Switzerland Helps Pave The Way for Prison Health: The “Controlling Infectious Diseases in Prisons (BIG)” project
Launched in 2008, the aim of BIG is to ensure equivalency of healthcare in both the Swiss penal system and outside in the community. The goals of the project include: minimizing the risk of infections being transmitted in penal institutions, minimizing the risk of infections being transmitted from the community to within penal institutions (and vice versa), creating equivalent standards of prevention, testing, and treatment (including drug abuse treatment), and ensuring sustainability of the measures and tools developed.
BIG is continuing its final phase of dissemination, which involves institutionalizing the measures and tools developed between 2008 and 2010. To read a summary about BIG from the project manager, click here. To see the government webpage, click here.